What should I do when I have writers block?

This happens to every writer, every artist. You just have days sometimes longer where no matter how deep inside yourself you reach, you keep coming up with empty hands. Creative expression is a magical process. Since it comes out of you, your heart your soul, it is a generative process. In other words, you are literally using parts of yourself to create the poem. Emotion, memory, wish, hope….think of it this way. When a woman becomes pregnant, as much as she might wish to see the finished product, the baby, next week, if the creative process doesn’t last approximately 9 months give or take, the creation ( baby) will not survive.
It takes time. Think of your periods of not-writing as a field resting fallow before the following year’s planting. All creators need to rest, regenerate, and recharge their batteries, however you d like to describe it.
I believe a poet is always in process including when no poetry is written. We see, hear, smell, listen, feel, watch, absorb everything around us.
It is also sort of like baking cookies. You start with ingredients, measure them into the bowl, mix as directed then spoon onto sheets and bake for a certain number of minutes. Takes time. What began as eggs, sugar, flour, chocolate chips all separate is now evolved into something different and unique.
One of my favorite things to do when I am not in a production period is to read. What better, easier way to learn to write than to read. It isn’t necessary to find a new book either. Some authors and stories or poems delight us over and over. So listen to your inner little kid when s/he demands ” Tell me a story.” Get some exercise, go outdoors and breathe in nature, eat healthy food and soon enough you ll read that one poem, maybe in a magazine or a friend shared it, and it will evoke almost a reflex response in your own self to create one back.
Have faith in your Muse. Even when she is not speaking to you out loud, she is still in your heart working away. Go make unprotected poetry!
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